Haunted by loss

For those who mistakenly assume that PTSD is a malady of modern warfare, prize-winning author Helen Dunmore’s novel The Lie provides a poignant reminder that throughout history, the battle is far from over after a soldier returns home.

A graceful portrait of grief

Rebecca's mother left her in a shoebox outside an Italian restaurant in 1965. Miraculously, someone found the infant before the rats did. There was, however, no miracle to save the grown-up Rebecca's child Ruby from a tragic death. In Mourning Ruby, Helen Dunmore depicts with aching sensitivity this mother who loses not only a beloved child but the only blood relative she knows, and eventually...